Our cat suddenly stopped beast feeding her four week old litter four days following contraceptive in

{QUESTION}Hi Our cat gave birth to three kittens five weeks ago and has been taking good care of them until about three days back. Then she just stopped breast feeding them all of a sudden. The kittens try very hard to feed from her but she strictly avoids. However she still stays around them, answers to their calls and keeps them safe within her sight. Her breasts don't appear to be inflammed. Since she goes out of the house, we gave her the contraceptive injection along with anti rabies vaccine one week back according to our vet's advice. Even after the injection she fed them as usual for about four days. Then this sudden change. The kittens eat solid food now but always demand milk from mother cat when ever they get the chance sadly to no avail. Can you please explain why this has happened? Has the contraceptive injection got anything to do with it?

It sounds like she's just done nursing. That should be fine as long as you are feeding the kittens mush (wet kitten food thinned with water or kmr) and dry food soaked in water or kmr.

Have you considered spaying all of them? They also need vaccines and dewormer. It's risky for mom to be going in and out before the kittens have these things as she could infect them.

Please consider having them spayed. It's safer and more effective.

You must proceed with usual kitten food.  Of course, if necessary, you may need to give them some extra supplement., kmr or goat milk.   goat milk is always a good supplement, and I suppose cheaper than  kmr - even if goat milk costs more than cow milk.

I presume moms stop is caused by the intection, alhtouhg it shouldnt be necessary - but apparently here it become the last straw.

Unless you are a breeder, and need to buy time for next litter (you probably arent as you let her out) - the simplest and best is to spay her.

Also, observe the injections are more dangerous than the Pill.  There is a substantial risk for sideeffects - the solution of the active substance, this is often harmful.  So, if you must use contraceptives in the future, my advice would be the Pill as the less bad.   But in the long planning, its always spaying, pill is no good alternative to spaying - the risk of cancer and pyrometra inreases year after year, perhaps even months after months.

I think the contraceptive shot has everything to do with her stopping nursing. It has altered her hormones completely.

She should be spayed instead of living on birth control.

It's good the kittens are weaned to solids now.

Thanks all of you for the prompt replies.    Actually we are going to spay her in two months. The reason why we opted for the injection this time was the concern that it might disturb her breast feeding this early. Pointless as It happened any way .

I belive the injection is a synthetic progesterone, which means her body thinks she's pregnant. Some cats (not all) do make their existing kittens stop nursing when they get pregnant again. So that's probably what happened. Plus her teats may be sore---progesterone certainly has that effect on humans! They're old enough now that they don't need to nurse, but it's good she's still mothering them otherwise. They'll learn a lot from their mother in the next few weeks.

If they don't seem to be very enthusiastic about eating solid food, or you think they need the extra nutrition, try mixing canned food with kitten formula until it's mushy, but not too liquidy.